


Wisteria

by Perpetuality



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Hospitalization, How Do I Tag, M/M, Not Beta Read, Spoilers, duel, flower symbolism, it evolved with the request i received, judai being judai, ryou holding himself back, set after the events of BBT, shou shows up very briefly at the end, this was actually a fic i had planned in 2014 but never wrote out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 21:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19185775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perpetuality/pseuds/Perpetuality
Summary: After being hospitalised over losing his ace card, Ryou receives an unexpected visitor.





	Wisteria

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of my Curious Cat requests/prompts, which I have opened for writing practice because of ficweek. Thank you Dusk, who requested fusionshipping with comfort as the prompt. Sorry for how long it took!
> 
> This wound up not turning out the way I thought it would, but here's two/three-days worth of struggling over this! I really love fusionshipping and flower symbolism...

Ryou eyed the tray-filled food settled above his blanket-covered legs. A pint of grape juice in a tiny, curve-textured container, a ham and lettuce sandwich covered by a plastic lid, an equally covered bowl of what he presumed was soup (given the condensed water droplets gathered), and a single orange all stared back at him. Shaking his head, he picked up the tray and placed it back onto the manoeuvrable desk, pushing away the wooden slab so that it angled away from him, and turned his gaze towards the window.

He wasn’t hungry. Especially knowing that the duelist he had confronted and had hospitalised himself over was still out at large.

The rays of sunlight filtering through the windows, undaunted by the drawn back shades the nurse had parted earlier, did little to improve his mood, and he turned away. It wasn’t too long ago that Ryou had been released from a hospital to begin with, having recovered enough from the damage his former Cyberdark deck inflicted onto his body. He had finally recovered to the point where he could be more independent again; for longer periods of time he no longer needed to be wheeled around in a wheelchair, nor did he have to brace himself against the side of another.

To think that all this progress went down the drain due to the machinations of a single duelist.

He had first heard about the duelist in question when Johan contacted the DA group with a frantic text, revealing that he had lost his ace card quite literally to some ‘crazy duelist who came out of nowhere on a white motorcycle (Johan’s words, not his) and had some unknown dragon with him.’ Perhaps what was most concerning was the fact that the duelists’ attacks were real, and the manner with which Rainbow Dragon was lost: having the monster taken away, leaving behind its card that became non-functional and devoid of its art. While Johan claimed he was fine, that he only sustained scratches and bruises (both physical and to his pride), he warned the others to be careful, as he couldn’t weasel out the thief’s intentions. The others promised to keep a lookout and watch after themselves and to try and recover the stolen card, if possible.

The only one who hadn’t responded that day was Judai—understandable, given his current travelling. It was a rare treat for the former Slifer Red to speak with the others. Ryou knew how expensive it was to contact others internationally, in addition to struggling with spotty signal and limited internet access as a whole. And of the entire group, he was admittedly least worried about Judai. The brunet could take care of himself; having Yubel and Professor Daitokuji there as well was a bonus.

It was hard not to think about Judai without having everything else that Ryou was recently struggling to contend with appear with him.

After that text from Johan, Shou had taken it upon himself to watch over both brothers. While Ryou appreciated how dedicated his younger sibling was, it would be a lie to state that he was not worried for him. Having to think about this on top of their efforts in creating their Cyber Arts Pro League was a lot for the younger sibling, even if he was more than capable enough juggling it all. And though he knew that Shou was able to defend both himself and the others in a duel, Ryou did not want his younger sibling to face the one who had defeated Johan.

Perhaps a part of this was him being selfish. Ryou’s interest had been piqued at Johan’s mentioning of an unknown dragon. He wanted to see this duelist for himself, who had bested the second person who had given him that thrill when dueling. And, perhaps, a part of him knew that this duelist would come for him, if not Shou. If his hypothesis was right, the person was seeking dragons, and of the friends group, only he, Manjoume, Fubuki, and recently Shou used dragons--though the Manjoume’s ace was more the Ojamas than his Armed Dragons, as much as he may deny it. Even if Shou had surpassed him--the other had clearly shown that when he stepped in to duel in Ryou’s stead against the Jinzo Arts duelist--that did not mean that the older sibling was willing to allow Shou to potentially be hurt.

Unfortunately, his conjecture wound up being correct, which led him to being hospitalised yet again. That was frustrating enough as is, but to have his Cyber End Dragon stolen away as well in the same manner as Rainbow Dragon? He supposed he could allow that unfamiliar card and that equally unfamiliar method of summoning that duelist used to summon it to slide, but to still lose his trusted ace, even after painstakingly rebuilding his deck, hurt the most.

Ryou was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned back towards the wall where light filtered in, shifting forward in his hospital bed to better look out the large, glass door leading out to the balcony overlooking the streets. A familiar mop of two-toned brown hair with leaves sticking out soon appeared over the balcony edge, followed by the rest of the body as the individual hoisted himself over the railing with an audible shuffle. The moment his sneaker-clad feet touched the floor, he straightened up to his full height, revealing the rest of his features. Warm brown hues, a deep red of a former school uniform, a tube-shaped backpack slung over his right shoulder. The other individual glanced up, making direct eye-contact with Ryou, and sheepishly waved.

Ryou couldn’t stop the corner of his lips from curving up at the sight, a distant memory from his final year at Duel Academia suddenly returning to the forefront of his mind. He carefully stood up, using the wall as support as he made his way towards the glass door, and undid the lock to pull back the sliding door. Trust Judai to climb up the balcony to his room instead of checking into the hospital like any other visitor would.

“Hey,” the brunet grinned, stepping inside as if he hadn’t scaled up the balcony mere moments prior.

“Hey yourself,” he responded, moving back slightly to give the other space as he entered. How utterly Judai that greeting was.

Ryou watched as the other turned in place and shut the door he came through, noticing leaves haphazardly sticking out of the other’s hair. “Judai, you could have just entered through the lobby,” he added, bemused when it appeared that the other took no notice of the additions in his hair.

Judai shrugged, unslinging his backpack from his shoulder. “You’re right,” he agreed, loosening the string keeping the pack closed; “but I couldn’t just leave Pharaoh and Professor Daitokuji alone. Besides, it’s more fun this way.”

As if responding to its name, the feline in question leaped out, landing on the floor on all fours. Pharaoh languidly stretched in place with a wide yawn, then trotted forward to affectionately rub against Ryou’s legs with a quiet purr. The other knelt down to gently scratch and the underside of the cat's chin in a silent greeting. “I suppose it is,” he mused, allowing Pharaoh to move away as he straightened back up. Well, it wasn’t any issue having Judai as an unexpected visitor; the former Obelisk Blue would always welcome him.

The other’s easygoing grin dimmed slightly as Judai carefully observed the other. “How are you doing, Kaiser?” he queried, his voice tinged with quiet concern.

Ryou met the gaze with his own, before breaking it when he turned around and returned to his bed. “Well enough,” he put forth after a moment’s thought. It wasn’t a lie; just seeing the former Slifer Red come to visit had done immensely more to his mood than did the sunlight coming through the window. “Did you also visit Johan?” he continued, turning the conversation away from himself.

If the brunet found the sudden change of topic suspicious, he said nothing of it, simply choosing to move around the bed and rearrange the chair pulled up to the bedside so that it was backwards. Depositing his pack at the chair’s feet, he plopped down onto the seat. “Not yet,” he responded, leaning forward and crossing his arms atop the chair’s back. He rested his chin atop his arms. “I wanted to come see you first.”

Ryou raised an eyebrow at the other’s words, having fully expected Judai to go visit one of the friends he was closest to, but accepted it. He hadn’t seen him respond to the group, or give any indication that he knew what had happened recently and yet here the other was, speaking as if he knew what had happened. “I don’t suppose that you went after the duelist that did this to us?” he questioned, his words sounding more like a statement. He tried not to think too much over Judai’s choice of words, or that he had come to see him before Johan, even.

“You bet I did!” The brunet exclaimed with a nod, barely visible due to his current stance. “I wasn’t going to let Paradox get away with stealing my friends’ cards.” So that was the duelist’s name. “You’ll never guess what exactly happened, either.”

“Oh?” At this point, having known Judai long enough, Ryou would agree that something extraordinary occurred during the other’s pursuit of the monster snatcher. He focused his attention more on what the other had to say, ignoring the stubborn twinge of mild disappointment that had surfaced so suddenly.

“I met a time traveller,” the former Slifer Red excitedly revealed; “I’m not going to say too much because I don’t want to accidentally mess things up, but apparently his card was stolen too, so he came back to chase after Paradox, the guy who was going around taking our cards.”

Ryou watched the other’s excitement grow, the emotion obvious by the way Judai’s brown eyes had lit up, and through the way he was waving his arms as he recounted what happened. Many of the other’s previous visits were much like this, with him simply content to listen as the other shared the people he encountered and the places he went to.

“...also, we sent back in time and got to duel together alongside Yugi and the unnamed pharaoh he was with! I didn’t think that I would ever get the chance to be on the same side of the field as him.” Judai’s chatter died down and he tilted his head, silently watching the resting duelist. Seeing that the other appeared as though he had more to say, the older Marufuji sibling waited, and was momentarily rewarded for his patience.

“Kaiser,” the brunet spoke up again, his voice serious; “I wasn’t going to bring this back up, but you deflected my question earlier. How are you doing?”

Ryou frowned, furrowing his eyebrows together. Although the question left a lot of room for him to flexibly respond, it was also quite loaded. What exactly did Judai expect from him? Except that the navy-haired man knew what Judai was looking for: an honest response. He had nothing to hide from the other (except maybe one thing he himself has not quite come to grips with yet), and even if he had, they were both so aware of each other that it would be near impossible to get away with lying.

“I’m recovering,” he finally stated, gingerly resting his hand over his heart. It was still fragile and strained easily, but it hadn’t stopped beating for awhile. Hopefully, it would remain that way for a very long time. “Although I won’t be released yet, I haven’t relapsed.”

Judai hummed in response, drumming his fingers against the plastic chair back. “That’s good to hear,” he commented. He readjusted his posture, shifting so that he was sitting straight up, resting his chin in the palm of his left hand, which was propped up by his elbow. “By the way, Kaiser, I didn’t only mean physically when I asked you how you were doing,” he gently stated. “I meant more as a whole. What’s eating at you?” Knowing eyes flickered towards the tray of untouched food before they returned to the older duelist.

Ryou’s expression tensed slightly into something unreadable before he released a sigh, shutting his eyes. “It’s complicated,” he admitted, deciding that while it was vague, it was still true. “There’s a lot on my mind.” He couldn’t just up and say the things he was fully aware that were bothering him, especially since one of those very things directly related to the brunet sitting a short way from him.

Judai sagely nodded. “Things tend to be that way,” he agreed. “It’s why I like to duel things out; I can convey and receive all the feelings I want. Can’t really do that right now, though...”

He trailed off, scrunching his face up in consideration. A thought seemed to dawn upon him, as he brightened up. “Actually,” he slowly began, retracting his previous statement, “we could.”

The brunet relaxed, offering Ryou a small smile. “Would you be down for a duel? One without our disks; just old-fashioned table-top dueling.” He inquired. “I promise it’d be better than me listening to you when it’s clear that we’ll both be struggling.”

While Ryou did yearn to duel the other again, he would have preferred to feel the full passion through the disks’ Solid Vision, to be able to stand straight and strong across from his opponent, to be able to fall into the same wavelength the two had always seemed to be on, even when he had first met Judai during his entrance duel to get into Dual Academia in the first place. But, he knew that he could not do that just yet--and dueling in Judai in any form was something he would never turn down. He would accept this for now. “Alright,” he agreed. “I would like that.”

“Great!” Judai stood up to rearrange his chair, making it face forward, before he moved to readjust the hospital table, angling it so that it allowed both occupants to access its surface. When Ryou made a motion to move away the tray, he then pointedly looked at the tray of food, prompting the other to pause and wait. “At least take something first before we start,” the younger duelist frowned, nudging the tray forward slightly using his index finger.

The navy-blue haired man grimaced, not particularly keen on the idea of eating anything, but relented, reluctantly picking up the container of grape juice. Seeing the self-satisfied smile on Judai’s expression as he peeled back the aluminum foil lid to drink the liquid did make things slightly better, though, and he took a sip.

Judai picked up the tray and placed it atop of the nightstand beside Ryou’s bed, simultaneously picking up the closed card case. Returning to his seat, he handed the pack to the other, then reached behind his back to take out his own deck. “Want to go first?” he lazily asked, fanning his deck open, nodding at the cards, and beginning to shuffle it.

Ryou placed the now empty grape juice container aside and mimicked the other’s action with his own deck. “No,” he decided, placing his card down on the table where the deck slot would be; “you can take the first move.”

The other nodded, placing the deck down on his side of the field, and drew five cards. He saw no need to announce all of his moves like he usually would when facing his opponents, simply setting down Elemental Hero Blazeman in attack mode. “I know you’ve been working on creating a new deck since we last spoke,” Judai commented, activating the card’s effect. He picked his deck up, fanning the cards out and adding Polymerization to his hand. “I’ve been making a few adjustments of my own.” Shuffling the deck, he replaced it, then set down a card in his spellzone, ending his turn.

Ryou looked up from his own cards in his hand, reaching out to draw from his deck. “You’ll be challenging me regardless,” he pointed out, recalling the many duels he had witnessed Judai partake in, as well as his own graduation duel. His eyes flickered back towards the now six cards in his hand, and he set down Pot of Greed, drawing two more cards. “I look forward to seeing the changes you have made.”

He stilled at the two additional cards he had just drawn, his eyes having focused on Power Bond--the card that not only had brought through many victories and defeats, but also symbolised the bond he had with Shou. Although the former Obelisk Blue really was glad that Paradox had only decided to target himself, he knew that Shou hadn’t exactly felt the same. Shou had been quite upset to see that his elder brother had to be hospitalised again, but was also relieved that it wasn’t over anything as bad as during the two years after Ryou had graduated.

He added the cards, the other being Cyber Dragon, to his hand and set down a Cyber Larva he facedown on his field, ending his turn. It wasn’t only Shou who had been worried when Ryou lost to Paradox, but also Asuka and Fubuki. While neither of the two could come visit him in person, the former still currently studying in North America and the latter working on his book, the two had called him to check up on him. He knew that they cared for him deeply--Ryou himself returned those sentiments--but that made him feel no less bad for having worried them like that. He accepted their feelings, albeit in a reluctant manner.

Judai drew his card, his eyes flickering towards the former Obelisk Blue before he redirected it back to his hand. “Y’know,” he casually began, summoning Elemental Hero Heat on his field, and using the effect-boosted card to attack the facedown one on the other’s field. “Shou told me that the doctor should be able to let you out soon if you don’t push yourself too hard.” So he had spoken to his younger brother after all. “I know he’s looking forward to seeing you released soon so that you two could continue working on creating your Pro League.”

Ryou sent his attacked card to the graveyard and activated its effect, replacing the defeated Cyber Larva with yet another one from his deck. “When did you speak to Shou?” he curiously asked, shuffling his cards.

“A little before I climbed up,” Judai responded, using Blazeman to attack the new Cyber Larva. The other duelist repeated his previous action again, replacing the card with his final copy. “He was going to come visit you but when he heard that I was stopping by, he said he would come a little later.” He set another card face down in his field, finishing his turn.

Ryou drew another card. “Shou is busy, now that we are making progress and beginning to gain some publicity,” he stated, giving Cyber Dragon Core a quick glance before he normal summoned it to his field. He then activated Machine Duplication from his hand, using its effect on the recently summoned monster. “I don’t expect him to come visit whenever the hours allow people to.”

“You know he would put aside his work to check in on you,” Judai pointed out, simultaneously put out and excited by the fact that Ryou now had two of his Cyber Dragons out on the field in addition to the other monsters already there. Trust the other to be able to pull out two of his beloved cards within the span of a single turn. He certainly enjoyed the challenge being presented to him.

“I’m well aware of that.” Ryou called his first attack, targeting Blazeman with one Cyber Dragon. Although the attack went through, he was unsurprised to see Judai quickly put up Hero Signal in return, summoning Sparkman from his deck in defense mode and reshuffling his cards. “Asuka and Fubuki did the same, calling me despite being in different timezones.” Well, Asuka was at least; he was certain that Fubuki was still at home in Japan.

He called for his second attack, targeting Elemental Hero Heat, whose attack points again returned to 1800 with the arrival of Judai’s new monster, but was met with the other’s quick activation of Hero Barrier. Seeing nothing else he wanted to do, Ryou ended his turn.

Judai gave Ryou a long and considering look, reaching out to draw another card. He gave the trap card a quick glance before he added it to his hand. “You don’t like that they’re using their time to check up on you, huh?” He noted, hitting the nail on the head. Although he wasn’t watching the other’s expression at the time, he knew that what he put forward was correct; he had only two guesses as to why Ryou had paused for that brief moment earlier, and only one of them applied at that time. The other must have drawn Power Bond.

“I learned the hard way back during my third year that the others will do things even if you don’t agree with it,” the brunet continued, summoning Lady Heat in attack mode. He then swapped Sparkman into attack mode, equipping Spark Blaster on him, and using it on one of the other’s Cyber Dragons. Now with Elemental Hero Heat possessing 2000 attack points, Judai had enough to send the Cyber Dragon now in defense mode into the Graveyard, and promptly ordered the attack.

He gave Ryou a lopsided grin, the gesture serving both as an apology for his attack and for showing the mixed emotions he felt from the memories that arose from his comment. “I mean, you were kind of one of them at the time,” he pointed out, remembering when the other had tried to get him to go back to his previous self after he had realised just what he did as the Supreme King back in the Dark World. It hadn’t worked out then, but now that Judai was able to look back at the events that occurred, he knew that the other was just trying to help him move on in the way the two of them knew best.

Judai continued his attacks, having not yet ended the Battle Phase, and directed Sparkman and Lady Heat towards Cyber Dragon Core and Cyber Larva. Ryou sent the three cards to the Graveyard in turn, accordingly adjusting his Life Points to reflect the damage calculation received from the first attack. To finish his turn, the brunet slid the trap card he drew facedown in the appropriate zone.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that even if you don’t want the others to worry about you,” the former Slifer Red finished, inclining his head in a silent permission for the other to begin his turn; “just let them. All you can really do is focus on getting better now so that you can leave faster and let them go back to what they were doing before.” A pause. “So that means no more skipping food,” he emphasised; “That’s my piece of profound wisdom for you.”

If Manjoume were here, he no doubt would have scoffed at Judai’s use of the word ‘profound,’ the group of friends having long known that the brunet could barely remember more advanced vernacular. Still, Ryou couldn’t help but to quirk his lips up into a smile, seeing this sudden role reversal of him receiving advice from Judai, when it had been the other way around years prior.

“I thought you claimed that you would struggle if you chose to listen to me speak,” he teased.

The other’s cheeks pinkened, Judai taken aback by the other’s improved mood, and struggled to piece together his thoughts. “Yeah, well,” he fumbled, “we’re dueling, aren’t we? I did say I could better receive and convey feelings this way.”

The other shook his head, drawing his next card, and immediately activating the Call of the Haunted he drew, resurrecting his defeated Cyber Dragon. “You never cease to surprise me,” Ryou chuckled, moving his hand over to gently pluck Power Bond out from his hand, activating that as well now that he no longer had any reservations. The two Cyber Dragons on the field, as well as the final copy in his hand, went to the Graveyard, replaced by the doubled-attack power Cyber End Dragon.

The card art, having been restored when Judai and his other two allies had defeated Paradox, gleamed under the artificial light in the room. Navy blue eyes watched the card with unconcealed fondness and pride, their owner clearly relieved to see that his ace card had been restored. The few days he spent in quiet agony over having lost his card felt so long, and to see that things had finally been returned to normal, thanks to the brunet sitting before him, Ryou felt relieved. But there was still one thing he wanted to check.

“Judai,” he spoke, drawing the younger’s attention. The brunet had recomposed himself the moment Ryou had brought his ace to the field, seemingly quite happy now that Cyber End Dragon was back with its original owner, but was also no doubt quickly creating a plan to counter the move if he hadn’t already anticipated it. “This was the second time I lost my ace. I don’t know if Cyber End has a spirit, but if it did, would you send it my apologies?”

Judai’s gaze softened at the other’s inquiry. “I think that even those who can’t see card spirits would be able to tell that Cyber End has forgiven you ages ago,” he gently stated. “It wouldn’t allow to use it if it didn’t consider you to be a proper owner anymore.” And even if it didn’t, the brunet himself doubted that Ryou would allow himself to continue until he felt as though he had redeemed himself enough.

The two silently locked gazes, steely navy blue searching warm chocolate brown, until the former Obelisk Blue nodded, finding what he was looking for and accepting the other’s words. “Thank you.”

Judai nodded in return, continuing to watch Ryou closely.  “I feel like there’s something else you want to say,” he noted, curious, but also patient; he wouldn’t dig deeper unless the other gave permission to speak about it.

The other, who was about to switch to Battle Phase in order to call his attack, paused. “There is something else on my mind,” he agreed, moving away from the cards to rest his back against the bed’s headboard. “Did you want to address that as well?”

Judai thoughtfully hummed, crossing his legs. “It doesn’t feel as heavy as the other two things we just discussed. You can talk about it if you want to, but otherwise, we don’t have to.”

A part of Ryou did want to talk about it, considering that the subject of those thoughts was still here, but he held himself back. He himself had yet to sort out his own feelings for the other, which he was now beginning to acknowledge and accept as very real, and very prevalent. And though he sometimes found his words to be effective, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to properly convey what it is he wished to say.

But they _were_ in a duel right now…

He gazed at Judai’s seated form again, the other’s statement of being able to receive and convey emotions better through dueling than he did words still echoing in his head, and made his decision.

“I use Cyber End Dragon to attack Elemental Hero Lady Heat.” _Judai, we may not be dueling in the way I would have wanted to right now, but I want you to be able to accept the feelings I am putting into this attack._

Judai, as if hearing the other’s thoughts spoken aloud, immediately straightened his own posture, uncrossing his legs so that his feet were flat against the floor. Knowing very well that he would lose if he did not take any action, he met the other’s gaze understandingly and flipped over his trap card, revealing Draining Shield. As he added 8000 Life Points to his current amount, simultaneously avoiding the destruction of his Elemental Hero, the former Slifer Red watched as Ryou de-fused his Cyber End to prevent taking damage as per Power Bond’s second effect, ending his turn.

“I see,” Judai murmured, pushing his fanned out cards together into a small neat pile, placing them down on the table with their backs faced the ceiling.

Ryou looked away for the first time the brunet came to visit him, feeling a mixture of discomfort for making himself vulnerable like that, as well as slightly afraid of what would come next. In ordinary instances, perhaps he could accept having his feelings rejected and be able to continue life as it was, but this was _Judai_ he had found himself falling for. Ryou would live, that was for certain, but he feared of just how long it would take for him to be able to pick himself up and move on.

He missed Judai leaning over to sift through his bag, frowning when he was unable to find what he was searching for. He missed the other occupant scratch the back of his head in apparent confusion, turning to his left to speak with someone who wasn’t there in plain sight in muted panic. He missed the way he calmed down and brightened up, seeing Pharaoh trot towards Judai with the item he sought tucked safely in its mouth. What Ryou did see, though, was a bouquet of pink flowers pushed forward in the periphery of his vision.

Hesitantly, he turned to face the younger man again, who had stood up during the period of awkward and tense silence that had fallen between the two and was now holding a bouquet of flowers out for him to take. “Judai?”

The other averted his eyes, unable to meet his gaze, his cheeks glowing pink with bashfulness. “Uh, I was supposed to give this to you first,” he admitted, still holding out the flowers, “but I completely forgot. Silly me, huh?”

Ryou observed the other, unsure if he was actually hearing correctly, before he too placed his cards down on the table, and reached out to take Judai’s proffered flowers. He thumbed his fingers through the pink petals, recognising the breed of flowers alluded to in his own surname. Wisterias. “I never took you to be a flower person,” he commented, fully aware of how much his heartbeat was reverberating in his chest.

“I’m not really one!” Judai laughed, dispelling the previous atmosphere that had settled over the room. He seated himself again by Ryou’s bedside, Pharaoh joining them when he laid down by the foot of the bed. “There’s a card in there,” he added, nodding to the wisterias. “The florist I got this bouquet from said that each flower has a meaning, so I tried to choose one that I thought best fit. Give it a look?”

The other gently placed the bouquet over his blanket-clad legs, obliging the brunet’s request. Slender fingers picked up the card nestled snugly amidst the sprigs, opening the front flap to reveal the interior.

**Wisteria (Pink)**

**Serious devotion**  
**Blossoming feelings of love**

Ryou put the card back into the bouquet and gave Judai a slightly disbelieving stare. The other took note of it and flushed again. “I felt your feelings in that duel,” he admitted, fighting the urge to squirm under the older’s gaze; “but I wasn’t entirely sure at first if I was reading it correctly. But with that last attack? Now I know for a fact that it was.”

Ryou continued to stare and for a brief moment, Judai feared that perhaps he had inadvertently overstepped his boundaries, or that he had misread the other’s intentions. However, that thought was dispelled when the former Obelisk Blue started to laugh. Baffled by the reaction, the former Slifer Red openly stared, unable to help himself. “Er, Kaiser?” he tentatively asked, concerned.

The other party of the conversation didn’t respond, continuing to laugh. He had worried himself over nothing. Even in the hypothetical situation that Judai didn’t return his feelings, the other wouldn’t respond in a way that would hurt him. As dense as the other may be at times, he still cared deeply for the well-being of others, especially his very own friends.

“You really do never cease to surprise me, Judai,” he spoke, his laughter finally calming down into a genuine smile. When was the last time he had laughed like this? The duel they had during his graduation felt so long ago…

The brunet cheekily grinned, his own heart skipping a beat at the other’s expression. “Infinite potential, remember?” he reminded. He leaned forward, propping himself up by bracing his hands against the hospital table, and gently placed a kiss on Ryou’s cheek. He leaned back before the other could react, the momentary surge of courage that prompted this action stifled underneath a crushing wave of embarrassment, and he averted his gaze. “Get well soon, okay? I’ll be here for a little longer before I go.”

Ryou raised a hand to gently touch his cheek, which still tingled from when Judai had pressed his lips to it. “I will,” he decided, wanting no more but to reciprocate the gesture with one of his own. He turned his attention back to the tray above the nightstand and reached out, picking up the long-cooled container of soup. “And when you resume traveling around the world,” he added, removing the lid and setting it on the hospital table, away from the cards and wisterias, “I’ll await your return.”

Judai, his eyes shining with pride and affection, nodded, opening his mouth to speak more when another voice interrupted them.

“Aniki! Nii-san!”

Shou burst into the room, holding a plastic bag in his hand. He straightened up with a pause, looking between the two with a confused glance before his gaze fell on the abandoned card game on the hospital table. “Really, Aniki?” he groaned; “I know dueling’s almost always on your mind, but couldn’t you have waited for my brother to recover first?”

The two big brothers figures, one literal and the other figurative, exchanged a look that conveyed ‘we’ll continue this later,” before Judai turned back to the face the lighter-blue haired man, huffing at his friend’s accusation.

“Hey! What do you mean by ‘almost always?’”

**Author's Note:**

> Ryou is very difficult to write...I hope I did him justice. I also took liberties with Judai's deck with the small duel I wrote! I love his anime deck, but I kinda wanted to switch things up a little and insert a few of his manga cards. (tbh I didn't know Heat and Lady Heat were his manga cards; I just used them when I still played Duel Links skhgkdshg.) Also, I'm aware that you start with 8000 LP when actually dueling, but since this oneshot is based off the anime, I left it at 4000.
> 
> The wisteria has other meanings, but I selected the ones that I thought really fit (they were actually a bonus; I initially selected it because of the kanji in Ryou's surname). So the two meanings I included aren't the sole meanings for pink wisterias.
> 
> I'm still accepting writing requests and prompts in my CC! While I am more likely to write for fandoms I am more familiar with, I will also accept fandomless things and maybe branch out with others.
> 
> My Curious Cat: [takemus](https://curiouscat.me/takemus) | My twitter: [takemus_](https://twitter.com/takemus_)


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